They Are Used in Death as They Were in Life

It always amazes me how the media swoops in on an opportunity. In the past few weeks they have had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to news magazine and talk show fodder. First they were all over the loss of Farah Fawcett. This lady deserved recognition for the way she fought the terrible decease that was killing her, but when the media started their "All Farah All the Time" blitz it seemed well planned and contrived. It seemed less like a tribute to a brave lady and more like a money making scheme.

Next we lost Ed McMahon, an ex-marine who served with honor and a great talent in his own right, but the media hardly had time to line up their producers and suck in their canned footage when the story about Michael Jackson broke. I'm afraid honors for Ed had to be put aside for a more valuable subject. Michael was the prize; it had everything. It had great music, oddities, allegations of sexual misconduct, and, maybe best of all, a mysterious death. This was the post-mortem gold mine. Hour specials and news magazine spots hit the airways instantly. Considering the surprise of his death, does anyone wonder how the media puts together an hour long program in hours? It is by the magic of cut and paste.

Once the Michael Jackson story machine got cranked up everyone got in line. People that were calling him a wacko two weeks ago were now saying how misunderstood he was. The same media that descended upon him during his dark times were now reporting how badly the media treated him like they weren't the ones that did it.

Everything "Jackson" is selling again. The estate will be awash with money, not to mention the clever marketers that will be selling everything from MJ CDs to MJ bobble heads. The media will make a ton more money with stories about the fight over the estate. The entire thing seems more like vultures descending on a fresh kill than people genuinely interested in the loss of a great artist.

As I said, we lost Ed McMahon but his tribute was shelved. We also lost the great actor Karl Malden. His acting career included major roles in some of the all time greatest movies such as Patton, On The Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, How The West Was Won, and Birdman of Alcatraz. He was also well remembered for his role on TV's Streets of San Francisco. This great actor got barely a mention from the media because they were in the midst of the Michael Jackson feeding frenzy. Mr. Malden's death wasn't a seller. He lived an honorable life and died at the rich old age of 97. I still think at least one station should show at least one or two of his movies; they were all classics.

This has been a terrible period for celebrities. Even with all the mystery surrounding David Carradine's death it couldn't hold the media's attention. Maybe it was a little too weird for the sponsors or maybe there just wasn't enough interest with all of the other opportunities around.

There were still more to come. The great spokesperson Billy Mays dies of apparent heart disease. The most recent blow was the news of NFL football quarterback Steve McNair's died. His death has been officially ruled a homicide so that ought to give the media something juicy to work on after the MJ hype dies down. Imagine all of the work this saves network writers in coming up with things for their news magazines. These people are set for the rest of the season.

Everyone one of these people was of value in their lives just like all of us. They have celebrity which makes their lives and their deaths interesting to all of us. The media has to report these stories but do they have to make a circus out of everything?